The Gloucester High School girls’ varsity volleyball team has won two matches and lost two since its season started late last month.

The Lady Dukes defeated the Hampton Crabbers, 3-1, in an away game on Aug. 29. Samantha Carlton had four aces and four kills, Shyanne Carlton had three aces, Ava Hutton had seven aces, Carlee Miller had four aces, Nadia Oberlin had one kill, Coral Santos had four kills, Amanda Stafford had one ace and five kills, Keira Tidwell had six aces and three kills and Fallon Wills had three aces.

GHS players used the jump-serving technique as their primary form of serving during the Hampton match and all were able to achieve aces. According to head coach Sean McNash, this is an advanced technique commonly used at the upper levels of high school and regularly used in collegiate and professional volleyball.

Gloucester is the first team in Peninsula District history to have all of its servers using this technique. Others have had one or more servers using the technique, but never all , he said.

McNash said this technique has been a point of emphasis in the GHS girls’ volleyball program since the spring 2023 off-season conditioning program. Players who did not participate in serving during this match are also capable of this skill and include Emma Lynch, Jenaye Oberlin, Nadia Oberlin and Santos.

Denbigh

The Lady Dukes traveled to face the Denbigh Patriots on Sept. 3, winning the match, 3-0. During the game, Samantha Carlton had nine aces, Shyanne Carlton had two aces, Miller had one ace, Jenaye Oberlin had one kill, Nadia Oberlin had two kills, Santos had five kills, Stafford had four aces and one kill, Tidwell had seven aces and four kills and Wills had three aces.

Warwick

During their first home game of the season, the Lady Dukes fell to the Warwick Raiders, 3-2, in a long, hard-fought match last Thursday.

Samantha Carlton had two aces and two kills, Miller had two aces, Hutton had seven aces, Jenaye Oberlin had six kills and six blocks, Nadia Oberlin had four blocks, Santos had one kill and three blocks, Stafford had four kills and one block, Wills had two aces and Tidwell had three aces, nine kills and three blocks.

Menchville

The Lady Dukes also fell to Menchville Tuesday night while on the road. During the match, Samantha Carlton and Santos had one kill each, Shyanne Carlton had one ace, Stafford had one block and Keira Tidwell had one ace, one kill and two blocks.